Trump's Dismissal regarding Journalist's Murder Signals a Disturbing Development.

“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old journalist was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed sanctions and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the identical as my message for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.